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Following strong backlash from other members of the African National Congress (ANC), Ekurhuleni Mayor Mzwandile Masina has come out to clarify reports calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to “step aside” amid accusations of corruption that is brewing against some members of the party.
Masina has recently asked ANC members facing fraud and corruption charges to resign from their official positions, according to a resolution adopted in the ANC Nasrec conference in 2017.
Ramaphosa faces corruption allegations regarding your CR17 campaign, with a pending case on the cards.
The ANC Ramaphosa presidential campaign was reported to have received more than 400 million rand in donations. The party’s integrity committee had already been contacted to discuss the matter.
ALSO READ: ‘ANC leaders must not feed frenzy, we must unite’, as Mboweni calls Masina to ‘order’
The mayor had previously said that Ramaphosa was wrong to accuse the ANC of being corrupt and that the party should act consistently against corruption, prompting responses from Finance Minister Tito Mboweni and Presidential Minister Jackson Mthembu. .
Meanwhile, Mthembu and Mboweni have called on Masina to “correct himself” or “order” after his repeated anti-corruption protests, and the mayor maintains that the ministers are misinformed about what he said.
“Both Ministers Mboweni and Mthembu are misinformed about what I said when I organized an anti-corruption picket. I have helped you by sharing the clip of what I said and you both understand how I have answered the question posed.
“In the first instance, I never said that Ramaphosa should step aside; instead, I said that no one is above the ANC, if the president has fraud and corruption issues before the courts, then he too, like the rest of the members, should step aside.
“It is a principled stance as no one is bigger than the organization, so those who know about its issues are better qualified to say that there are or are not court cases regarding corruption, and I am not one of them. “Masina told The Citizen. .
READ MORE: ‘… Hang your head in shame’ – Zuma’s scathing letter to Ramaphosa
Masina also clarified claims in which he reportedly said in 2017 that he would refuse to continue serving as mayor if Ramaphosa became president and said he was “tired of the media always getting away with it.”
“I never said that I would resign when Ramaphosa becomes president. When the stories appeared I issued a statement to the media, but you continue to state that once I said so and for the record, I did not join the ANC for any individual and I will not abdicate my responsibilities for any person.
“In fact, I have a very good relationship with President Ramaphosa and no amount of harassment on social media will succeed in tarnishing our political relationship.
“The fact that I voted for (Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs) Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, it was an election and I do not regret it, but I respect Ramaphosa as the elected leader of the ANC,” he added.
The matter had caused the ANC to issue a statement berating Masina for his stance, asking its leaders to be aware of what they publish and to take into account that nationalizing the economy was not an ANC policy.
READ NEXT: Tony Yengeni tells Ramaphosa to lead by example and resign
The mayor also said that he had not been involved in any corruption and welcomed those who may have any accusations against him.
“I am not involved in any matter, so I made a one million march against corruption alone. If you have any accusations against me, bring them, I will answer you.
“I am against any form of corruption, regardless of who committed it, so if someone files a corruption complaint against me, I can respond without fear. I don’t like corruption and I think it has the potential to kill the ANC, ”he also said.
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